Doctor says statin use could be contributing to rising rates of cataract surgery

This study was published in Ophthalmic Epidemiology 2016 Jan 14:1-6

Study title and authors:
Statin Use and Incident Cataract Surgery: A Case-Control Study.

Erie JC, Pueringer MR, Brue SM, Chamberlain AM, Hodge DO.
Department of Ophthalmology , Mayo Clinic , Rochester , MN , USA.

This study can be accessed at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26766069

The purpose of the study was to determine the association between statin use and cataract surgery. The study included 6.024 participants aged 50 years and older who had first-eye cataract surgery, who were matched with control participants who had never had cataract surgery.

The study found:
(a) Cataract surgery was significantly associated with 29% increased odds of statin use in all participants
(b) Cataract surgery was significantly associated with 34% increased odds of statin use in women.
(c) Cataract surgery was significantly associated with 17% increased odds of statin use in men.  

Erie concluded: "Incident cataract surgery was associated with increased odds of statin use, and underscores the possibility that increasing statin use could be contributing to rising rates of cataract surgery."

Links to other studies:
Statin users have an increased risk of cataract
Statin use is significantly associated with cataract requiring surgical intervention
Adverse Effects of Statins

Statin use is significantly associated with cataract requiring surgical intervention

This study was published in the Canadian Journal of Cardiology 2014 Dec;30(12):1613-9

Study title and authors:
Statin use and risk for cataract: a nested case-control study of 2 populations in Canada and the United States.

Wise SJ, Nathoo NA, Etminan M, Mikelberg FS, Mancini GB.

This study can be accessed at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25475465

This study examined the effect of statin use on the risk of cataract and need for surgical intervention. Data was derived from two health databases: The British Columbia Ministry of Health database and the IMS LifeLink database (US health claims database). The British Columbia Ministry of Health database included 162,501 male and female cataract patients who were matched with 650,004 control subjects. The IMS LifeLink database comprised of male patients aged 40-85 years; 45,065 cataract patients were matched with 450,650 control subjects.

The study found:

(a) In the British Columbia group, statin users had a 27% increased risk of cataract requiring surgical intervention compared to nonusers.

(b) In the IMS LifeLink group, statin users had a 7% increased risk of cataract requiring surgical intervention compared to nonusers.

Wise concluded: "This study demonstrates that statin use is significantly associated with cataract requiring surgical intervention.".

 

 

 

Links to other studies:

Statin use is associated with a 57% increased risk of age-related cataract

The unintended adverse effects of statins in men and women

Statins increase the risk of cataracts by 20%

Statin users have an increased risk of cataract

This study was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association Ophthalmology 2013 Sep 19

Study title and authors:
Association of Statin Use With Cataracts: A Propensity Score-Matched Analysis.

Leuschen J, Mortensen EM, Frei CR, Mansi EA, Panday V, Mansi I.
Wilford Hall Ambulatory Surgery Center, San Antonio, Texas2San Antonio Military Medical Center, San Antonio, Texas.

This study can be accessed at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24052188

The objective of the study was to compare the risks for development of cataracts between statin users and nonusers. The study included 6,972 statin users who were compared with 6,972 nonusers.

The study found:
(a) The risk for cataract was 9% higher among statin users in comparison with nonusers.
(b) In patients with no comorbidities according to the Charlson Comorbidity Index, (the Charlson comorbidity index predicts the ten-year mortality for a patient who may have a range of comorbid conditions, such as heart disease, AIDS, or cancer a total of 22 conditions), the risk for cataract was 27% higher among statin users in comparison with nonusers.

Leuschen concludes: "The risk for cataract is increased among statin users as compared with nonusers".

Statins increase the risk of cataracts by 20%

This study was published in Drug Safety 2013 Jun 15

 

Study title and authors:

Statin Use and Cataract Surgery: A Nationwide Retrospective Cohort Study in Elderly Ethnic Chinese Patients.

Lai CL, Shau WY, Chang CH, Chen MF, Lai MS.

Department of Internal Medicine, National Taiwan University Hospital Hsin-Chu Branch, Hsin-Chu, Taiwan.

 

This study can be accessed at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23771795

This study investigated the relationship between statin therapy and cataracts. The study included 50,165 adults aged between 65 and 90 years who were followed for an average of 10.7 years.

The study found that statin users had a 20% increased risk of cataract surgery compared to statin non-users.  

Statin use is associated with a 57% increased risk of age-related cataract

This study was published in Optometry and Vision Science 2012 Aug;89(8):1165-71

 

Study title and authors:

Age-related cataract is associated with type 2 diabetes and statin use.

Machan CM, Hrynchak PK, Irving EL.

School of Optometry, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada.

 

This study can be accessed at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22797512

This study investigated the associations between age-related cataract, type 2 diabetes, and statin use. The study included 6,397 patients aged 1-93 years.

The study found:
(a) Statin users had a 57% increased risk of age-related cataract compared to non-users.
(b) The 50% probability of cataract in statin users occurred at age 51.7 and 54.9 years in patients with type 2 diabetes and without diabetes, respectively. In non-statin users, it was significantly later at age 55.1 and 57.3 years for patients with type 2 diabetes and without diabetes, respectively.

The results of the study show that statin use is associated with an increased risk of age-related cataract.

Statins increase the risk of cataract

This study was published in QJM 2003 May;96(5):337-43

Study title and authors:
Cataract and the use of statins: a case-control study.

Smeeth L, Hubbard R, Fletcher AE.
Department of Epidemiology and Population Health, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK. liam.smeeth@lshtm.ac.uk

This study can be accessed at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12702782

The aim of the study was to assess the risk of cataracts associated with the use of statins. The study included 15,479 people with cataract and 15,479 controls without cataract.

The study found that those who were exposed to statins had a 4% increased risk of cataract compared to those who had never used statins.

The unintended adverse effects of statins in men and women

This study was published in the British Medical Journal 2010 May 20;340:c2197

Study title and authors:
Unintended effects of statins in men and women in England and Wales: population based cohort study using the QResearch database.

Hippisley-Cox J, Coupland C.
Division of Primary Care, University Park, Nottingham NG2 7RD. julia.hippisley-cox@ntlworld.com

This study can be accessed at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20488911

The objective of the study was to quantify the unintended effects of statins. The study included 2,004 692 patients aged 30-84 years.

The study found after five years:
(a) Women who used statins had a 56% increased risk of acute renal (kidney) failure compared to women who did not use statins.
(b) Women who used statins had a 30% increased risk of cataracts compared to women who did not use statins.
(c) Women who used statins had a 53% increased risk of liver disease compared to women who did not use statins.
(d) Women who used statins had a 197% increased risk of myopathy (muscle disease) compared to women who did not use statins.
(e) Men who used statins had a 61% increased risk of acute renal (kidney) failure compared to men who did not use statins.
(f) Men who used statins had a 32% increased risk of cataracts compared to men who did not use statins.
(g) Men who used statins had a 53% increased risk of liver disease compared to men who did not use statins.
(h) Men who used statins had a 515% increased risk of myopathy (muscle disease) compared to men who did not use statins.

The study highlights some of the unintended adverse effects of using statins.
Statins increase the death rate by 150-300%
Statins increase the incidence of liver damage
Statin use increases muscle damage after exercise (including the heart muscle)

Adverse Effects of Statins

This post features a summary of a study published in the International Journal of Pharmacology 1 (3): 210-225, 2005

Study title and authors:
Adverse Effects of Statins
Anna Jamroz-Wisniewska and Jerzy Bettowski
This study can be accessed at: http://198.170.104.138/3/detail.php?id=1&jid=ijp&theme=3&issueno=157&articleno=55015

Dr Anna Jamroz-Wisniewska reviewed the evidence concerning the adverse effects of statins.

The review found:
(i) Statins inhibit the production of 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutarylcoenzyme A (HMG-CoA) reductase, an enzyme in cholesterol biosynthesis pathway, which initially converts HMG-CoA to mevalonate. Mevalonate is the precursor to cholesterol.
(ii) Apart from cholesterol, mevalonate is also a precursor for nonsteroid isoprenoids including farnesylpyrophosphate, geranylgeranylpyrophosphate, coenzyme Q, dolichol and isopentenylpyrophosphate which play an essential role in cellular physiology. 
(iii) The authors report that myopathy (muscle disease) is the most frequent side effect of statins. Other's include peripheral neuropathy (damage to nerves of the peripheral nervous system), hepatotoxicity (liver damage), increased risk of cataract and, according to some studies, increased risk of breast cancer.
(iv) Some studies suggest that statins may sometimes even be the cause of clogged arteries and heart failure.